New 260 in the house

[Mobiusman]

I am in the process of upgrading my system and just made a major investment in Shunyata A/C and signal products with great, if not really surprising, results (see highly specific post if interested in the specifics). I have heard the Spectral DMA 260 and had my jaw dropped and think that it would be a huge improvement over my Bryston 4B SST2, but do not want to shed the Shunyata IC's and speaker wire. Any thoughts about the reality of the Spectral with a BAT preamp, Shunyata IC's and speaker wire (the A/C side is not an option to eliminate because the improvement is so incredible). I understand that the Shunyata and Spectral work fine, but want to be sure. I am also thinking of replacing my Bryston dac with a Meitner MA-1 and am interested in any thoughts on that front. One other query. I have Martin Logan Montis (essentially a Summit with only one front facing woofer) but augmented with 2 JL F 113's and wonder if my cynical friend is right that the speakers are not resolving enough to demonstrate the superiority of the Spectral. I think he is wrong, but curious about anyone's experiences in this realm.

 

[scouter]

You'll enjoy the 260- what an amp! I don't think you can mix non-Spectral preamps with the 260, unless they make an universal amp ( with some Spectral amps you can order it "universal" in order to use any preamp with the product) Best to talk with the dealer you buy the 260 from. You can pick up Spectral 15 preamps used at reasonable prices, just look around. FYI, the 15 only has RCA outputs- you have to go to the 30 for Balanced outputs. I am using a MIT Z strip with good results. Also, Spectral IC's and SC are mandated with the 260, so again, check with dealer. Good luck.

 

[ack]

Russ, with your priorities it's probably best to stay away from Spectral - you can't build a system around noise control equipment or wires.

 

[Mobiusman]

I agree in general, but the changes that have resulted from the Shunyata Zitron insertion have led to me make this shift. They are that impressive and I suspect unique.

 

[ack]

I agree in general, but the changes that have resulted from the Shunyata Zitron insertion have led to me make this shift. They are that impressive and I suspect unique.

The Zitron power cords you can keep (if that's what you are talking about) - most of us here use Shunyata power cords with Spectral. It's the current-limiting is-series power conditioners that won't work with the amps (they are OK for other pieces - and BTW, FWIW I have never seen Goodwin's plug in a Spectral amp into a power conditioner save for the MIT parallel filters, let alone the Triton that you have), and I don't think any dealer will sell you a Spectral amp if they know you won't use MIT signal cables and their preamps. If you cannot subscribe to the Spectral system-design approach, you are better off buying used or looking elsewhere. I am pretty sure you were listening to a Spectral system that collectively left you impressed, not just the amp.

 

[Mobiusman]

I will find out soon because I bought a Spectral DMA 260 yesterday and hope to receive it in about 4 weeks. You all may be right and if so, I will do what is necessary to recapture the sound that "burned a hole in my brain" 2 years ago when Steve and I went to Music Lovers. I have done a lot of research on this subject and tried to get behind the politics and think I have a handle on what is going on. You are right that Goodwin's is very much against using anything other than what Spectral insists on and I may just end up buying a DMC 30 ss and MIT IC's and speaker wire. We will see.

However, today I am in love with another purchase from yesterday that I actually have in my system for the past several hours, a Meitner MA-1 DAC. It replaced a Bryston BDA-1 which is very respectable for the money, but no contest for the Meitner. It sounded great out of the box and is only getting better with each disk. The only thing that I do not like and suspect and hope that Meitner can fix with a firmware modification is that when I jump tracks on my transport, the Meitner stays muted too long, or maybe has trouble locking and I miss the first 2-3 notes of the cut, a deal breaker if it cannot be fixed.

The gain from the Meitner is way beyond what I expected, despite that I have spent many hours listening to my friend Marty's XDS-1 and know its sound quite well. What I did not expect was the magnitude and nature of the improvement in the bass. It was the most impressive aspect of the improvement thus far, with only 3 hours on board.

 

[ack]

Congratulations! these amps are exceptionally sophisticated devices and I think you will love Spectral driving your Montis, so do post your findings.

 

[Mobiusman]

It seems that the combination of the 260 of the Montis produced some weird findings at Goodwin's with several RR big band discs shutting the amp down at only reasonable volumes during brass crescendos, BUT no problems with Dead Can Dance at ear bleeding levels.

With regard to the Montis, they are truly surprising me. Granted I am using them with a pair of JL F113's and they are almost 7 feet away from the rear wall. I like them considerably more than the Summit X's which they are identical to except for a 75hz higher x-crossover point from the ML woofer to the identical screen AND, more important, only one front firing woofer rather than the Summit's second identical unit which is down firing and to my taste somewhat blurring.

I cannot even begin to emphasize how much the Shunyata Triton and Zitron power cord changes their sound. ML signature sound is gone-thank God. The Meitner just makes the whole spectrum sound more musical, if not analog, with a much better sound stage. The speakers are now completely invisible.

 

[ack]

Yes, unfortunately, I have posted here before that the amps were shutting down driving the Summit Xs as well, but at moderately high levels, with RR orchestral - it's the reason I never bought them. I am pretty sure it's that impedance dropping to 0.8, or 0.5 ohms in your case. My MLs at least won't drop below 1ohm and that appears to be the limit with these Spectral amps.

 

[Mobiusman]

I realize that some curves are likely coming my way so i will have to adjust to what is thrown at me. But until then, I am loving the Meitner.

 

[Elberoth]

I don't think any dealer will sell you a Spectral amp if they know you won't use MIT signal cables and their preamps.

You do not need to use Spectral preamp with Spectral amps. The manual clearly states,that you can use a 3-party preamp provided it is a high current design (meaning a SS preamp with low output impedance). Same for DACs fed direct to poweramp.

Robert Harley drives his 360 monos with the Berkeley Alpha DAC direct. I have personally tried dCS Scarlatti, MSB DAC IV, Berkeley Alpha and Total DAC direct to 260. No problems whatsoever. Like RH, I prefered the direct connection vs Spectral SS-30mk2 preamp.

I have even tried the Shunyata Anaconda Zitron SC (nothing blew in a couple of days of usage) - but this is not something I would recommend (neither Spectral does).

 

[ack]

You do not need to use Spectral preamp with Spectral amps

Are you serious? When you open the package, there is even a blue sticker on the plastic cover to alert you to that requirement plus the MIT cables. If you are talking about the Universal amps, that's a different story.
Perhaps I should point you to http://www.goodwinshighend.com/preamp.htm

Mix and Match Brands or preamp and power amp?

If you have selected a preamplifier for its sonic merits, you will generally find similar merits in that same manufacturer's power amplifiers. However, you may find that another brand of amplifier has sonic characteristics that you favor. Feel free to choose whichever brand and model you prefer. The one exception to this is Spectral, as certain models of Spectral power amp need to be mated with a Spectral preamp. However any Spectral preamp can drive any brand of power amp (details). Note that some amplifiers sound best when used with their balanced inputs. For these, you'll want to be sure to use a preamplifier with balanced outputs.

 

[Elberoth]

Please check the 260 manual.

 

[ack]

Can you read this white sticker on your 260?

You may have purchased a Universal version (not sure if they even produced one).

 

[Mobiusman]

Has anyone tried HiFi Tuning fuses with their 260?

 

[edorr]

You do not need to use Spectral preamp with Spectral amps. The manual clearly states,that you can use a 3-party preamp provided it is a high current design (meaning a SS preamp with low output impedance). Same for DACs fed direct to poweramp.

Robert Harley drives his 360 monos with the Berkeley Alpha DAC direct. I have personally tried dCS Scarlatti, MSB DAC IV, Berkeley Alpha and Total DAC direct to 260. No problems whatsoever. Like RH, I prefered the direct connection vs Spectral SS-30mk2 preamp.

I have even tried the Shunyata Anaconda Zitron SC (nothing blew in a couple of days of usage) - but this is not something I would recommend (neither Spectral does).

Bit of controversy on this topic apparently. I was on the phone with Goodwin suggesting I wanted to try the 260 or 360s with tube preamp (Arc REF 5SE) and no red flags went up. I even suggested connecting the two with non MIT cabling, again no red flags. Speaker cable would have to be MIT though.....

Any thoughts on arc ref 5SE pairing with a 260? Is the ref 5SE a "high current design".

I guess I can take it out and see how it compares with driving the spectral directly from the MSB DAC, which is apparently precisely what Adam is doing. .... In my system adding the preamp improved over MSB DAC direct quite a bit, but it is all about system synergy.

 

[mep]

Can you really only drink half of the Kool-Aid?

 

[nirodha]

Are you serious? When you open the package, there is even a blue sticker on the plastic cover to alert you to that requirement plus the MIT cables. If you are talking about the Universal amps, that's a different story.
Perhaps I should point you to http://www.goodwinshighend.com/preamp.htm

Yep, you do not need to use a pre-amp with a Spectral power amp. Have been using my dCS Elgar Plus straight into my 360s series one for as long as I can remember. Have been using the MIT MA-X2 cables though.

 

[edorr]

Yep, you do not need to use a pre-amp with a Spectral power amp. Have been using my dCS Elgar Plus straight into my 360s series one for as long as I can remember. Have been using the MIT MA-X2 cables though.

Brilliant. I have my roadmap planned out:

1. Get MIT Speaker cable
2. Wait for used 260 to show up (these will hit the market when the 300 rs comes out)
3. Compare Spectral with incumbent, using Arc Preamp and DAC direct signal path. Depending on outcome:
4a. Sell Spectral -> end of expiriment
4b. Sell incumbent class A, sell Arc - run DAC direct
4c. Sell incumbent class A, keep Arc preamp

If 4b or 4c ->
5. get MIT single ended interconnect
6. Scoop up used Sprectral premamp, do shootout. Depending on winner:
6a. Keep spectral preamp, sell Arc preamp
6b. Sell spectral preamp

 

[kennyb123]

Brilliant. I have my roadmap planned out:

3. Compare Spectral with incumbent, using Arc Preamp and DAC direct signal path. Depending on outcome:

You should contact ARC and confirm that your ARC preamp can drive the low input impedance (10K ohms) of the 260. Per the specs listed on ARC's website, 20K ohms is the minimum load for the 5SE. My guess is the 5SE will have a difficult time driving the 260.